Bloomfield

Bloomfield is a suburb of Hartford in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town's population was 21,535 at the 2020 census. Bloomfield is best known as the headquarters of healthcare services company Cigna. The area was first settled in 1660 as part of Windsor, organized as the Parish of Wintonbury in 1736. It was finally incorporated as the town of Bloomfield by the Connecticut General Assembly on May 28, 1835. The west side of the town is flanked by Talcott Mountain, part of the Metacomet Ridge, a mountainous trap rock ridgeline that stretches from Long Island Sound to nearly the Vermont border. The major eastwest throughways in Bloomfield are Route 218, which starts at the Simsbury Road/Hall Boulevard split at the West Hartford line and inches north toward Cottage Grove Road before heading eastbound.Bloomfield has two major northsouth highways: Blue Hills Avenue (Route 187) and Bloomfield/Tunxis Avenues (Route 189) These highways merge when approaching the Windsor line but before returning to Bloomfield. The main east-west route is Route 218 (Routes 187 and 189). Bloomfield has 11 bus routes in Connecticut Transit's Hartford Division serve Bloomfield: 36, 46, 50, 72, 52, 56, 54, 54, 54, 76, 92, and 153. The  town is bordered by Windsor to the northeast, East Granby to the north, Simsbury and Avon to the west, and West Hartford and Hartford to the south.

History

Wintonbury was first settled in 1660 as part of Windsor, organized as the Parish of Wintonbury in 1736. It was finally incorporated as the town of Bloomfield by the Connecticut General Assembly on May 28, 1835. Initially, the town's local economy was agriculturally based, mostly in shade tobacco, remaining as such until it developed as a postwar suburb of Hartford starting in the 1950s. Today, Bloomfield's local character varies. While the southern and eastern fringes are more densely populated and developed, the northern and western sections maintain a more rural feel with meadows, woods, and some remaining farmland. The town is located on the banks of the Connecticut River, which runs through the center of the town. It is the only town in the state to be named after a former president of the United States, George H.W. Bush, who died in office in 1961. It has a population of about 4,000. The city's population is about 3,000, with the majority of its residents living in the northern part of the city. It also has a large percentage of residents who live in the city of Hartford, the state's largest city. Bloomfield is home to the U.S. Army National Guard, which is based in the nearby town of Wethersfield, Connecticut. It's also home to a number of colleges, including the University of Connecticut and the Connecticut Institute of Technology, which was founded in 1776.

Geography

Bloomfield is bordered by Windsor to the northeast, East Granby to the north, Simsbury and Avon to the west, and West Hartford and Hartford to the south. The northern border of Bloomfield is formed by the Farmington River. The west side of the town is flanked by Talcott Mountain, part of the Metacomet Ridge, a mountainous trap rock ridgeline that stretches from Long Island Sound to nearly the Vermont border. The 51-mile (82 km) Metacometric Trail traverses the ridge. Bloomfield has a total area of 26.3 square miles (68.0 km²), of which 26.1 square miles is land and 0.15 square miles, or 0.63%, is water. The town has a population of 2,816. It is located at the junction of the Connecticut Turnpike, the Connecticut River, and the New Haven River. It has an elevation of 1,838 feet (431 m) The town is home to the Connecticut State Museum, which has a collection of more than 2,000 pieces of art. It also hosts the National Museum of American History, which dates back to the 17th century. It was the site of the U.S. Civil War and the Battle of the Bulge, which took place between 1775 and 1783. The Connecticut River is a tributary of the Hartford River, which runs through the town. The Hartford River is the source of the West Hartford River.

Transportation

The major eastwest throughway in Bloomfield is Route 218, which starts at the West Hartford line and inches north toward Cottage Grove Road. Bloomfield also has two major northsouth highways: Blue Hills Avenue (Route 187) and Bloomfield/Tunxis Avenues (Route 189) These highways merge when approaching the Windsor line but before returning to Bloomfield.Eleven bus routes in Connecticut Transit's Hartford Division serve Bloomfield: 36, 46, 50, 52, 54, 56, 72, 74, 76, 92, and 153.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 20,486 people, 8,554 households, and 5,343 families residing in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 35.7% White, 57.5% African American, 0.03% Native American, 1.9% Asian, and 0.01% Pacific Islander. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.6% of the population. The town's median income was $73,519, and the median income for a family was $84,735. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.4% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 24.5%) from 25 to 44, 26.6%) from 45 to 64, and 21.7%) from 65 years of age or older. For every 122 females there were 100 males, and for every 130 females age 18 and over, there are 100 males. The per capita income for the town in 2010 was $28,843. In 2000, the town had a median income of $42,860. In 2020, it will have a population of 20,000, and it will be the first town in the state to be included in the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. It will also be the last town to be added to the US Census Bureau’s 2010-2014 American Community survey 5-year estimates.

Government and politics

Bloomfield has a Town council government. The Town Council elects a Chair, who is designated as Mayor, two weeks after the election. Mayor Danielle Wong began her first term as Mayor in November 2022. She will serve a four-year term before running for re-election in 2018. She is the first woman to be elected as Mayor of Bloomfield in over 50 years. She was elected by the Town Council on a vote of the town's residents, with the support of the majority of the residents. The town has a population of 2,000. It is one of the fastest growing towns in the state, with a population growth rate of 1.7 per cent in the last five years. It also has the lowest crime rate in the province, at 0.3 per cent. It has the highest rate of obesity, at 1.4 per cent, and the lowest rate of smoking. It was the first town to have a female mayor, Danielle Wong, in November 2012. The first female Mayor ofBloomfield was elected in November 2013, and she was re-elected in November 2014. The current Mayor is Danielle Wong who will run for a fourth term in November 2018, and for a fifth in November 2019. It will be the first time the town has had a female Mayor in more than 20 years, and it is the second time the Town has had two female mayors in the same year. The last time was in 1994, when the previous Mayor was elected as a woman.

Economy

According to Bloomfield's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the town are: Bloomfield, Inc. Bloomfield is a small town of 1,000 people. The town is located in the central part of the state. It has a population of about 2,000. The city's economy is based on the economy of Bloomfield and its surrounding areas. The economy is one of the fastest growing in the U.S. and is expected to grow by 2.5 percent in the next five years. Bloomfields is a town of about 1,200 people. It is located near the center of New Jersey. It was founded in 1881 and is located on the banks of the New Jersey Turnpike and the Susquehannock River. In the town's history, Bloomfield has been known as "the town of the workers" and "the workers' town" The town has a history of having a low unemployment rate and a high rate of growth. It also has a high percentage of female workers and a low percentage of male workers. The top employers are Bloomfields, Inc., Bloomfields' largest employer, and its second-largest employer is Bloomfield City College. Bloomfords' top employers include Bloomfield University and Bloomfield High School. Bloom Foursome, a private school, is a junior college, andBloomfield High, a junior high and high school.Bloomfield is home to the Bloomfield Center for the Arts and Sciences, which was established in 1883.

Schools

Bloomfield is home to three secondary schools: the public Bloomfield High School, the inter-district Global Experience Magnet School (serving grades 612), and the Metropolitan Learning Center. Bloomfield Public Schools (Connecticut) also has: The Wintonbury Early Childhood Magnet School, Laurel Elementary, Carmen Arace Middle School, and a CREC school serving grades 611 and 612. The school district also has a middle school, a high school, an elementary school, and an alternative high school. The district has more than 1,000 students in its public schools. It also has an array of private schools, including a charter school and a private daycare center. It has a number of parochial schools, as well as a private middle school and an adult day care center. The public schools have about 1,200 students in grades 6-12, and 1,500 in grades 5-8. The high school has 1,400 students in 6th through 8th grade. The middle school has about 1.5 thousand students. The elementary schools have around 1,300 students in 7th and 8th grades. The primary schools have 1,600 students in 9th and 10th grade, and 2,000 in 11th and 12th. The secondary schools have 2,500 students in 8th and 9th grades, and 3,000 eighth and 11th grade students in 12th and 13th. They have a total of 1,800 students in the district.

On the National Register of Historic Places

Connecticut General Life Insurance Company (Cigna) Headquarters and Old Farm Schoolhouse are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Cigna was a major insurance company in the state until it was taken over by the government in the 1970s. The school was closed in the 1980s and 1990s. It is now part of the Southwest District of the Connecticut Public School System. It was listed in the U.S. National Register for Historic Places on November 1, 1998. It also is on the Connecticut State Register of Registered Historic Places, which was established in 2000. It has been listed as a National Historic Site since 1998.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Bloomfield, Hartford County, Connecticut = 17.8. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 52. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 11. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Bloomfield = 3.3 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 3,277 individuals with a median age of 45.9 age the population grows by 6.94% in Bloomfield, Hartford County, Connecticut population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 825.1 residents per square mile of area (318.6/km²). There are average 2.38 people per household in the 8,536 households with an average household income of $62,857 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 9.30% of the available work force and has dropped -3.69% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 23.32%. The number of physicians in Bloomfield per 100,000 population = 291.3.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Bloomfield = 51.2 inches and the annual snowfall = 14.1 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 114. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 190. 85 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 16.7 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 52, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Bloomfield, Hartford County, Connecticut which are owned by the occupant = 71.03%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 40 years with median home cost = $177,900 and home appreciation of -13.52%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $19.40 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $9,540 per student. There are 12.3 students for each teacher in the school, 320 students for each Librarian and 373 students for each Counselor. 6.76% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 17.67% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 13.15% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).